Federal judge clears Ørsted to resume $6.2 billion Revolution Wind construction

A federal judge in Washington granted a preliminary injunction allowing Ørsted to resume construction on the Revolution Wind offshore project off the coasts of Rhode Island and Connecticut, setting aside an Interior Department stop-work order issued in late December. The decision returns a roughly $6.2 billion development that is nearly 90 percent complete to active work while the courts resolve challenges to the administration's suspension.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth described the bureau's earlier actions as unlawful, calling the August suspension "the height of arbitrary and capricious" action and finding the December order's vague national security assertions insufficient. He wrote that purportedly new classified information "does not constitute a sufficient explanation for the bureau's decision to entirely stop work on the Revolution Wind project," and characterized the government's change in position as "unreasonable and seemingly unjustified." Lamberth concluded Revolution Wind had "demonstrated likelihood of success on the merits" and was "likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction," adding that "the balance of equity is clearly cut in favor of Revolution Wind continuing work while the government considers ways to mitigate any new national security concerns."

Developers report the project includes about 704 megawatts of capacity across 65 turbines and is variably described as supplying power enough for roughly 300,000 to 350,000 homes. The project, jointly owned by Ørsted and BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners, has contracts to sell electricity to utilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island and has been slated to begin commercial operations next year. Ørsted said it will "resume construction work as soon as possible," with safety as the top priority, and will continue efforts "to deliver affordable, reliable power to the Northeast."

The stop-work orders issued in December halted construction on Revolution Wind and four other East Coast projects, citing unspecified or classified national security concerns. Those orders followed an earlier August suspension by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which Judge Lamberth blocked in September 2025. Several states and developers have mounted legal challenges to the administration's broader action; Revolution Wind's case was the first of those to reach a hearing after the December orders.

Political reactions underscored partisan divisions. Representative Joe Courtney of Connecticut said the ruling reaffirmed that the administration's second attempt to halt the project was driven by the president's "longstanding personal vendetta against offshore wind, not any genuine national security concerns." Senator Richard Blumenthal called the administration's efforts "misguided and without evidence." A White House spokeswoman, Taylor Rogers, reiterated the administration's criticism of offshore wind, saying President Trump has called wind energy "the scam of the century" and criticizing the cost of offshore wind.

The injunction is a temporary, case-specific win for Revolution Wind and provides immediate relief to contractors, suppliers, and financiers facing idle crews and mounting costs. For investors and the broader offshore wind industry, the ruling eases near-term uncertainty but leaves open systemic risks: prolonged litigation could increase financing costs, delay commercial operations and slow the region's planned additions of clean generation. The case also spotlights a deeper policy tension between executive branch national security prerogatives and the regulatory stability developers cite as essential to large-scale energy investments. Litigation will continue while work resumes, and the outcome could determine whether other halted projects secure similar injunctions.